Burnt Ends.

April 27, 2015

Saturday wrapped up the longest stretch of consecutive coaching/work days of my career. 4 weeks by my estimation. Worth it? Most certainly. I started lifting weights as a sport 10 years ago. I never thought it would take me here. That being said, If you know and are friends with me on a personal level, I owe you both a congratulations and an apology. I don’t think I’ve willingly or been happy about answering my phone for at least the last 3 weeks.

Young strength coaches or trainers, find balance. Like me, you might find yourself with a few hours of actual free time on your hands only to find that you have no one to spend it with. All your friends will have given up.

I’d now like to share with you a picture of personal significance to me.

I spent MANY years trying to find my way out of the classroom. It looks a lot different from this angle.

One thing that they don’t tell you about getting into the strength and conditioning or general fitness field is the amount of time that you will be spending doing work related things OTHER than coaching at the gym. More often than not, training will be the first thing to suffer. You’d think that working at a gym means unlimited gym time with your mental state complexly focused on your sport goals. That might be true for the first couple years while you’re building your base (and are poor) but when you finely find yourself with your feet underneath you, you will also find your church has been turned into your office; albeit the COOLEST office ever.

The photo pictured above is taken from the NSCA Norcal State Clinic. I was lucky enough to be one of the featured speakers. For me, this represented a personal milestone. This is the first crowd that I came in contact with in 2005 that actually KNEW about Olympic weightlifting. I can remember eagerly walking into the CSUS weight room and some of the masters kinesiology students were in there practicing their lifts or getting ready for competition. These were my first weightlifting heroes. Some of those people were actually present this day when I spoke and it gave me a special feeling of closure re-meeting these people; this time on the professional level.

A final closing thought: The grind IS worth it. Just make sure that by the time you’re done grinding, you have a plan for the future and people to spend it with.